Over 30 social entrepreneurs from more than 20 countries in Asia and Europe gathered in Berlin. Photograph: Damir Sagolj/REUTERS

Earlier this month, over two days in Berlin, more than 30 social entrepreneurs from more than 20 countries in Asia and Europe met to discuss how to develop a better policy context for social enterprises in the two continents. The gathering was organised by the British Council and the Asia Europe Foundation, and sponsored by the government of Japan.

The two days comprised a visit to Berlin social enterprises – Ruby Cup and Fairnopoly - and discussion with their founders about how they operate and are funded; briefings from leading social entrepreneurs such as Penny Newman from the UK and Muhammad Ali of BRAC; and a series of seminars and workshops, aimed at finding a consensus between participants about how policy can support social enterprise in both Asia and Europe.

Establishing common ground between such a diverse group of participants, drawn from 23 counties in two continents was a challenge. Asia is more economically and developmentally heterogeneous than Europe, and the experience and nature of social entrepreneurs seems to vary even more than within Europe. As Shariha Khalid, co-founder of Scope Group, a Malaysian social impact consultancy, put it: "The development of social business in Bangladesh develops in a context which is not comparable with the social enterprise movement in South Korea. In many ways social challenges have a totally different scale in Asia."

Colleagues from Burma, a country emerging from a dictatorship, were concerned that taking on the role of delivering public services meant letting the government 'off the hook' of being the duty holder. Participants from Pakistan, among others, were less concerned about the role of a state being usurped, as they felt that the state was not delivering the services in the first place – and that social enterprises were well placed to fill the vacuum.

Yet over the two days, certain themes shone through from both sides. Both Asian and European colleagues spoke of the need for sustainable models of investment, access to finance and to contracts, and for a greater need for social enterprise to be understood by policymakers and by the public, if it is to have a scalable and significant impact on the social problems faced in their continents. Participants from both continents worried that the lack of a definition of social enterprise left the sector open to non-social operators, and might deter social investors.

Many of the Asian participants were impressed by the European – and particularly British – experiences of setting up legal, financial and even legislative support for social enterprise, with the public services (social value) act attracting much interest.

From the European perspective, Kostas Geormas, a special advisor to the Greek minister for labour, welfare and social security, suggested that Asian colleagues could learn the ways with which social economy has tackled obstacles to its development in Europe, a theme echoed by Nicolas Hazard, chairman of Le Comptoir de l'Innovation, a French social investment form who urged Asian social entrepreneurs not to 'reinvent the wheel': "Many European countries can claim at least a one century long history of social entrepreneurship - Asia could learn from the European expertise and know-how in terms of social enterprises."

Lest the learning seem like a one-way street, participants from both Asia and Europe found plenty of ways in which experience could flow from east to west.

Shariha Khalid suggested that "the EU can learn from Asia in terms of the inventiveness of frugal/reversed innovation, grassroots innovation that harnesses the creative power amongst regular citizens who see issues in their communities and find socio-entrepreneurial approaches to solve them. The EU can also learn from Asia about community resilience - the strength of community support and collaboration in solving problems faced by other community members."

Kristin Schreiber, deputy chef de cabinet to EU single market commissioner Barnier, who delivered a presentation to participants, suggested that European social entrepreneurs have much to learn from Asia: "I think that the experience of social business in low-income countries ('bottom-of-pyramid' model) can also be of benefit for people in Europe. Take for instance the cooperation between Danone and Grameen: if they managed to produce an affordable nutritive yoghurt, with an edible packaging, why not in Europe?

Participants clearly valued the chance to network with social entrepreneurs from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. The meeting was a reminder that social enterprise is a global movement, a concept which policymakers and funders might do well to bear in mind. As Sheriha Khalid put it: "The two [Asia and Europe] can benefit from combining the strengths of each other and collaborating in a structured manner, exchanging lessons learnt and good/best practices around growing the social enterprise and social innovation sectors. Funding initiatives should also be opened up to include both regions so that social enterprises and social innovators across the globe can benefit and are not excluded on the basis of geographical location."

Kristin Schreiber signalled her support for further meetings with the aim of improving collaboration between Asia and Europe in the field of social enterprise: "We can also probably have more exchanges with countries/cities which face more similar conditions, to explain how our public authorities and social enterprises manage societal change and learn from Asian experience.

"Experiences in Korea, Japan and even China can be extremely interesting for decision-makers in Europe; conversely the way some countries in Europe developed local ecosystems for social enterprises can serve as a good toolkit for many stakeholders in Asia."

This was echoed by Karl Satinitigan, a policy advisor from the office of Senator Bam Acquino (who also attended): "Even if the context is different and even if specific policies and programs may not be transplanted, the constant dialogue will be powerful enough for social entrepreneurs and the players who support them because it can serve as a reminder to them that they are not alone in the fight against some of the world's most intractable social problems. I have personally seen how these reminders can be powerful in keeping the passion alive."

The writer's accommodation and travel costs were covered by the British Council.